Friday, January 18, 2013

Friday's Fave Five


I've also been wanting to participate in the Friday's Fave Five theme from Susanne at Living To Tell the Story for a while (I first found Susanne's blog through one of the reading challenges that Katrina hosts in spring and fall, and have been following it for a while.) The idea is to post five of your favorite things  -- big or small -- kind of like the idea of a gratitude journal.

So, here are 5 of my favorite things for this week.

1) Long Underwear.

Even though it takes forever to get dressed in the mornings when you have to put on umpteen layers, I think I have finally discovered how people are able to enjoy winter. The idea of "longies," as a coworker refers to them, is something that I don't recall being on the radar screen until I moved to Minnesota. I refreshed my supply last fall and, since our high a few days ago was something like 4 or 5 degrees Fahrenheit -- and the projected high in a few days is 8 below zero -- I've been getting a lot of use out of them.

2) Ice Skating

Although I've always enjoyed watching the figure skating competitions in the Olympics, I had never actually been ice skating myself until this past weekend. My daughter, however, went on a field trip last year, and has really been wanting to go this year. (Actually, she asked for lessons, but I really didn't want to add anything else to the family schedule.) So, when some friends planned an outing to a local rink last weekend, we went. Yes, this rink is outdoors, and yes, it was the day with the high of 5 degrees. :) Once we started moving, however, we were warm, plus they have outdoor fire pits, and a warming house with a very nice roaring fireplace -- and hot chocolate for sale at the concessions. It wasn't very crowded out on the ice, which is actually three ponds joined together, and we were out in the afternoon so that the twinkle lights around the edges of the water came on, and it was very pretty.

I probably looked like an idiot with the trainer sled and the hockey skates that kept coming untied until a lady from Finland nicely helped me lace them up (when I told the skate rental people I wanted whichever was easier between hockey and figure skates, they said "hockey") but, once laced properly, it actually wasn't too hard -- for some reason, I had the impression ice skating would be more difficult than roller skating. And my six-year-old, in her second time on the ice, was whizzing around quite speedily. She doesn't need lessons.


3) Vegetable Beef Soup

For some reason, I got in the mood for vegetable beef soup recently. We made some for dinner one night, using a recipe from the 2000 annual compilation of Quick Cooking recipes. I don't think we've ever made it before, but it was delicious on a cold day. Very easy to make, too, with frozen mixed veggies, and we substituted some of the whole tomatoes gifted from a neighbor and in our freezer for the "stewed tomatoes" called for in the recipe. Served with strawberry muffins, made with strawberries we picked last summer and stored in our freezer.

4) Reading 

I've discovered some new books and authors to me, via blog reading, that I've been enjoying either through library books or via the free Kindle app. I finished the Aggie's Inheritance series by Chautona Havig this week on Kindle, and am reading the second in Miss Read's Fairacre series as a library book.

5) The Book of Acts

Well, I may be behind on my one-year chronological reading plan of the Bible (yes, I was originally going to finish that last year), but I'm playing catchup this month and am currently in the book of Acts, interspersed with Paul's epistles (as they chronologically fit - hence the chronological Bible reading plan). I'm really enjoying reading the Bible this way, and am getting a much better understanding of how things fit together when I read them in the order they happened - rather than in the order the books got put in the Bible.

14 comments:

  1. I strted a chronological reading through this year and am determined to stay caught up... I ahve never been able to see it through to the end...

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    1. Well, if you don't stay caught up, you can always keep going ... I've had some times when I was on track with the schedule and other times, not so much.

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  2. Way to plug ahead with the Bible challenge. I'm glad you've discovered a secret in enjoying freezing temps! Have a great weekend.!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement on the Bible challenge! And I think my "secret" to enjoying freezing temps is only good up to a point -- tomorrow's high of 6 below, with a windchill of -35, will, I think, markedly exceed that point.

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  3. I haven't read the book of Acts in awhile. You've made me want to delve back in there! Good job not letting getting behind on the reading discourage you from jumping back in.

    I loooove soup. And through the winter months it's a staple around here. Layered dressing is definitely a good thing in the chillier areas. We're quite used to that here in Southern Alberta.

    Your six year old made me smile in your description of her skating. Oh to be able to pick up new skills as easily as kids!

    Thanks for joining in! Hope to see you next week too!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement on the chronological Bible reading -- and thanks for hosting!

      I figured Canadians would be very knowledgeable about layered dressing and soups. :)

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  4. So glad you joined us today!! I think I have the same One Year Bible. I like reading it in order, too, and I'm totally out of sync with the dates, but I just keep pushing on.

    I love Quick Cooking! That soup sounds wonderful.

    Hope you have a great week coming up!

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    1. I'm actually just using the chronological reading plan I linked to, not their actual Bible. I'm using a Bible I already owned, the Concordia Self-Study Bible -- which is part of the reason this is taking me so long, since after I read the selections, I go back and read the study Bible footnotes for each of the chapters.

      I loved Quick Cooking, too. I used to be a subscriber, in the early days of my marriage. I don't think it's published anymore, but I've never really heard for sure what happened to it.

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  5. Yes, I am finding the chronological reading is helpful to me in the same way!

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  6. I absolutely love to watch figure skating and competitions... I have always dreamed of doing that and ice skating in general... but alas, I am such a clutz regular skating is even not for me....

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  7. A lovely Friday Fave Five entry!! The veggie soup sounds so appealing - and your long underwear is very samrt. I should get a pair since I live in PEI and we're in a Jan. cold snap! I haven't gone ice-skating in years but I used to be very good at it. Won a medal in our school races and yes, hockey skates would be much easier to learn on.

    I love the Miss Read series - I own them all and like to re-read when I'm in need of a cosy time.

    Happy Monday!

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    1. Yes, I think you really do need some longer underwear if you live in Canada, lol. (Our weather forecasters blame your country for our cold air, by the way. They say things like "we're getting a Canadian front.") I'm not sure that the hockey skates were easier to learn on, but I am impressed that you are a true skater -- with medals and everything!

      I had never read the Miss Read series before, but I believe I'll be working my way through them this year.

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  8. Long underwear is great--I have some silk ones to wear when I travel to colder places. I'm glad you got to try ice skating. It sounds like you are going to be doing more of it this winter if your daughter has anything to say about it.
    I am part of three Bible studies (including at church) and we are studying Matthew in two and Acts in the third one. I'm learning so much!

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  9. Some of my new ones are silky -- don't think they're actually silk, but they are comfortable. I think you may be right about me doing more ice skating this winter (when it warms up to above zero again). I'm impressed that you're managing to keep up with three Bible studies at once!

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